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6
Chapter
Multinational corporations, tax avoidance and evasion and natural resources management
N on-renewable natural resources are an important source of revenue for many African countries. Challenges in government oversight, loopholes in national tax policies and the challenges of applying the arm’s length principle have led to widespread tax avoidance and engagement in illicit financial flows by multinational corporations, which dominate the sector. Generous tax incentives and fiscal stability clauses further undermine government revenue from natural resources.
African countries need to strengthen their oversight of the natural resources sector, consider shifting from corporate income taxation towards formulary apportionment (allocation of multinational corporation profits across countries based on sales, payroll and capital base in each country) and close loopholes to prevent base erosion and profit shifting. Elimination of base erosion and profit shifting alone could boost tax revenue by an estimated 2.7 per cent of GDP.